Published: March 19, 2010
Updated: 2:27 p.m.

Buena Park gang sweep nets seven arrests

By DENISSE SALAZAR
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

BUENA PARK – A sweep carried out because of a spike in gang-related crime in Buena Park netted the arrest of seven suspected gang members on parole or probation, police said.

The sweep occurred between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday and focused on members of the Barrio Pobre gang on the east side, said Buena Park police Sgt. Bill Kohanek.

"It was to send a message to our local gangs that when they are on parole or probation they must maintain all the requirements that have been issued by the court," Kohanek said.

The sweep involved about 25 personnel from the Buena Park, Fullerton, Cypress, La Palma and Garden Grove police departments and the California Department of Corrections, Orange County Probation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"All of the arrests were either warrant arrests or deportation arrests," Kohanek said, adding that some of those arrested had previously been deported after committing a crime.

Julio Cesar Castaneda Garcia, 19, of Buena Park, and Alfonso Carrillo Vasquez, 24, were arrested on suspicion of having false identification documents, Kohanek said. They were booked at the Buena Park City Jail.

Information on the other five arrests was not immediately available, Kohanek said.

Gang crime has gone up in the city of 82,000 residents and there have been more arrests of gang members carrying weapons, Kohanek said.

Examples:

At 5:30 p.m. on March 13, police got several calls regarding someone getting shot in front of an apartment complex in the 6700 block of Knott Ave, Kohanek said. Officers learned that suspected gang members got into an argument and one of them pulled out a shotgun and shot a 20-year-old man, he said.

The man suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Kohanek said the victim, a suspected gang member, was alone when he was confronted. The shooter may have been with at least one other person.

Shortly after 3 p.m. on March 6, officers were sent to George Bellis Park at 7171 Eighth St. regarding a fight with a gun being possibly involved, Kohanek said.

When officers arrived, the people involved in the fight had fled. Officers found a sawed-off shotgun in a trash can, which is being analyzed for DNA and fingerprints evidence to determine if it has been used in other crimes, Kohanek said.

No arrests have been made in connection with either incident.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3709 or desalazar@ocregister.com

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